Though aching and mournful, Distance and Time is a celebration of sorts; Fink has dropped his guard, released of the self-consciousness woven into Biscuits for Breakfast. He's found relief that his stripped-down bluesy songwriting had resonated with the public. On Distance and Time, he's closer to an emotional core, presenting intimate songs of loss and wondering. He also refines his style of percussive, syncopated guitar riffing into a characteristic element. The back-to-back duo of post-breakup laments "If Only" and "Blueberry Pancakes" sees Fink playing with his songwriting range, attacking the same basic subject from two different angles, bravely juxtaposed and avoiding any sense of redundancy. If Biscuits was the result of self-discovery, Distance is the result of self-exploration: more distilled and essential in its exposition of the internal.